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Hello and welcome back to my blog! I am certainly glad that you guys seemed to be glued and highly interested in what I’m going to be writing about next. I’m ecstatic to find that there are so many of my readers are truly interested in the humble mouse and caring for it like I do my dear Mercedes. For those who aren’t quite aware of it, there are A LOT of people out there that have mice as personal pets and not just have them because it was a school project.

There are actual mice breeders that are dedicated to finding breeds that can survive for pretty long. Mice are adaptable creatures. It doesn’t take long for them to start shaping their behavior in a way that best fits their survival. So if you have a pet mouse, you will know that are not naturally affectionate creatures. While they are social, they do not necessarily show their affection in the same way that we do.

However, your pet mouse will have adapted to you and understands that its master responds well to affection. Over time and especially if you treat your mouse companion well, it will pick up your cues so it won’t try to run or bite if you want to hold it in your hands. Instead, the mouse will try to burrow itself deeper in your hand’s grasp. A sort of cuddle, if you will! This exchange is not only beneficial for the pet owner but also for the pet itself.

You heard that right. Social interactions are pretty good and actually pretty darn important for a mouse. In fact, it is ideal that when you purchase a mouse, you get females and usually in a group or in twos. That way, they can stay together without breeding or killing each other because they get territorial.

Despite this nature, mice need interaction. Here are a few reasons why:

It makes them less anxious

Mice are not creatures that do well on their own. When adults are by themselves, they get angst-ridden and ferocious. When young mice are left by themselves, they do not pick up proper social cues for them to determine acceptable behavior. Yes, mice are much like people in terms of behavior. This is one of the reasons why they are best to use in behavioral experiments.

It makes them live longer

Social mice are happier. When mice are happy, they tend to live longer. While mice have an average lifespan of about three years, most of them do not reach that age because of several outside factors. Mostly, it is because they feel lonely.

To Close

Mice need to socialize with either their owner or other mice. Nothing was put on this planet to grow up alone at least that is what I think of it whenever I pet Mercedes. When I first got her she was still pretty small so she was not very good with socialization. I needed to wait a while and just be patient until she grew up enough to understand what it was that was needed of her.